Harry Potter and St Brutus's Secure Center Revised Version
by Nightfalls in Silence
Summary: What if Harry had attended St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys before he went to Hogwarts? General Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling and whoever she has sold the right to own Harry Potter, I am merely playing in her sandbox.
1. Author's Note

**Author's Note: **

Hello I'm back after a very long absence. For anyone who is still waiting for this story to be completed, thank you for staying with me. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed they mean a lot.

Also I will be looking for a beta if anyone is interested please let me know, it will make this process faster and result in a better story.

I realize that we are not supposed to post two versions of the same story, however I cannot add the updated chapters without repeating information or having information missing. I also do not want to delete the old story because then I will lose everyone's reviews.

Thank you,

Nightfalls


	2. Chapter 1

**Harry Potter and St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys:**

**Author's Note**: Hi, this is my first story, so I hope you like it. Feel free to review and tell me what you think. Please note that the next upload may take a while, as I would like to get a rough draft for a few more chapters typed first that way you will not have to wait as long later, hopefully. This is a rather short chapter is just sets up for the rest of the story, the other chapters will be longer. Please bear with me as I get use to the system. Thank you, Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does and she is nice enough to let us borrow her material. I do not have any money but if you want to sue please feel free to help yourself to my debt from student loans.

RATED M, **This story contains rape, abuse and cutting**

Thank you** The Epitome of Eccentricity** for acting as my Beta for this chapter. Also thank you to everyone who is still reading this and has taken the time to leave a review or PM me.

**The Beginning (Revised)**

Vernon Dursley resident of number 4 Private Drive, Surrey England woke up to his wife's horrified screech. "What is Wrong Pet?" the rotund man asked, concerned.

"Th-th… That that boy has been dumped on our doorstep by one of them FREAKS!_" _Petunia shrieked

"W… what? Get rid of it. I'll not have that- that freakishness here in our house. No, it has to go!" Vernon bellowed.

"But what would the neighbors say? We can't just abandon him, what if one of _them_ comes looking for him?" Petunia said hesitantly, not really wanting the boy but not knowing what to do about it. She was perfectly normal, thank you very much. The last thing she wanted was to raise the spawn of her freakish sister, but she didn't have a choice; the letter said she had to take him, or more of those _freaks _would show up and kill her, no they wouldn't get her Dudders!

And so it was that little Harry Potter, the savior of the wizarding world came to live with his aunt and uncle at number 4 Private Drive. Harry grew up unwanted and unloved, for his relatives never really wanted him. He was everything that they hated, and feared. Not that little Harry knew this, or understood why his family hated him they just did, so he accepted it. After all there had to be some reason for how they treated him. They didn't treat Dudley like him, but he was their precious little baby boy. Harry snorted; to him he looked more like a baby elephant. He didn't know how that worked, seeing as Aunt Petunia looked like a horse, and Uncle Vernon looked like a walrus. Maybe that was just a mix of them together? Not that Harry shared these thoughts with anyone. He had learned from a young age to keep his thoughts to himself, lest Uncle give him another beating. He was still sore from the one he received earlier that week; he hadn't meant to float the dishes; he did even know how he'd done it. He was trying to reach them and they had stated to float towards him. He knew he must have done it. He was always responsible for any freakish business, as his Aunt and Uncle called it. That's why he was here in his cupboard again.

He had given up saying that he did not mean to, or that he did not know what happened. It just meant that he went without food for the day unless his Uncle was in a bad mood, then it could be three. Just like he no longer cried or begged for his Uncle to not beat him- it just made the beatings worse, and meant he had more chores to do later when he was let out of the cupboard. No, he couldn't show any weakness, as it just made things worse.

Harry woke with a groan. It was his fifth birthday, and he hated his birthdays. Dudley would make a point of chasing him so he could give him a birthday beating. Then his Uncle would give him another beating for having to put up with him for another year. Petunia always gave him an impossible list of chores that he was expected to complete if he was lucky or unlucky enough (depending on how you wanted to look at it) to remain conscious for the beating. He then had to force himself to move, and hope that he hadn't broken anything he would need, like a leg, and try to complete all the chores. His aunt said it was to make up for all that they did for him. Ha, like they did anything, and today would be no different. Little did he know that today was the day everything would change.

"BOY GET UP! NOW!" His Aunt yelled at him, unlocking the cupboard. He got up quickly, not wanting to waste time. He did not need another beating for failing to do all of his chores. Going to the kitchen he pulled out a package of bacon and the carton of eggs putting them in a frying pan, before going to make a pot of coffee. His cousin thundered down the stairs, lured by the smell of breakfast.

"Hurry up, I want food!" Dudley demanded pushing him as he went by. He bit back a yell as his hand had landed on the burner; he would have to sneak some peroxide later. His aunt did not use it anymore, as she claimed it was too harsh to use on her darling little Dudders. The thought made him want to gag, but at least it made it easier to nick.

"Where's my breakfast!" Uncle Vernon thundered entering the kitchen, and jerking him out of his thoughts.

"Coming Uncle" he said grabbing a plate to put the bacon and eggs on. He had done this so often that he no longer had to really pay attention as long as he kept an eye on the time so it wouldn't burn. He brought the food to the table, and his Uncle and Cousin wolfed down the food, not even pausing to breathe as his Aunt ate at a more sedate pace. He washed the frying pans as they ate, grabbing the few scrapes in the pan as they were busy eating. Uncle Vernon finished eating and left for work and Dudley went to visit his friend Aunt Petunia gave him a list of chores.

"I want all of those done by the time Vernon comes home for work. If not, I'll let him deal with your laziness, and don't even think about stealing our food, Boy! I'll be back later I'm going out with Mrs. Mason, and won't be back until after lunch, if Dudley asks. You better not break anything!" With that he was left to complete his chores. Looking down at the list, he saw: Dishes, clean kitchen, laundry, wash floors, weed garden, water garden, paint the shed, clean Dudley's rooms, clean washrooms, clean family room, vacuum upstairs and downstairs, clean Attic, make dinner, clean dishes. How was he going to finish all of this today?! He started with the dishes and the kitchen as was already there, washing the counters, and cupboards after the dishes were cleaned and put away. He then decided he would paint the shed before it got too hot outside, grabbing the cans of brown paint and varnish from the garage. By the time the varnish had been put on the shed it was nine thirty. Since the front of the shed was dry, he grabbed the can of paint to paint it. He then painted the door, and finally painted the right side of the shed. He would have to wait for the rest of the varnish to dry before he could finish this chore. He put the varnish in the garage, and he then started to weed the garden. It was a mess! Someone had trampled on the flowers. With a sigh he started to pull out the weeds, putting the dirt that had been displaced around the flowers as he went. By the time he had finished the shed had dried and he could finish painting it. He grabbed a paintbrush and the can of paint and finished painting the shed. As he went to put the paint away he grabbed the hose, and saw that it was twelve thirty. He was glad that Dudley was away and his Aunt was out for lunch- it was one less chore to do. As he watered the garden, he greedily drank as much water as he could trying to cool off and fill is stomach so he would not be so hungry. Going inside, he grabbed the mop and vacuum to clean the floors, before gathering the laundry and putting the first load into the wash. By the time he was done cleaning the floors and vacuuming, the laundry was done. It was now two thirty and he had three more hours before his Uncle got home. The chores would never be finished in time. Just then, his aunt got home.

"Boy, come down here and put away the groceries!" Her shrill voice carried through the house. Putting away the groceries, he grabbed the cleaning supplies from his cupboard and went to clean the washroom. He would nick the peroxide while he was cleaning and store it in the cupboard with the rest of the cleaning supplies when he was done. He hurriedly went to clean the family room. He had cleaned it yesterday too, his aunt was a neat freak, so at least there was not much to do. He still had to clean Dudley's rooms, clean the Attic, and make dinner, and he only had two hours left before Vernon came home! Dudley's rooms took an hour by themselves, his cousin was such a pig. How anyone could make such a mess in so little time he would never understand. Deciding he better clean the attic next, he went upstairs. There were boxes everywhere, and it was so dusty, this would take more than an hour, he knew he was going to get another beating; at least he had managed to avoid his cousin, seeing as he had been inside for most of the day. Dusting everything off he started putting boxes on the shelves, it was hot up here, he wished there was a window. He wiped the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of Dudley's old t-shirt. Reading the label on one of the boxes he paused, staring in shock for the label read: Lily's Things. His Aunt hated his mom, so why would she have a box of her things, and why hadn't he noticed the box before? Shrugging, he opened it eager to see what was inside. He found a few stuffed toys and some children's books before coming across what looked like a set of unlabeled work books, picking one at random he opened it. Not work books, diaries! He started reading:

_Dear dairy, my name is Lily Evans and it is my eleventh birthday! I got the oddest letter. It was delivered by an owl and it said I was a Witch! Imagine, magic is real, WOW I can't wait to go to the school called Hogwarts; it said I was accepted in the letter. Severus always said that I was magical but I couldn't believe it 'till today. I can't wait to tell him, we'll be going together! I really want to get my wand. Sev said that I'm a muggleborn, cause my parents aren't magical, and that he's a half blood cause his mom is magical while his dad isn't, I don't like his dad, he yells a lot. He also said that there are purebloods that come from purely magical families, and that some of them won't like me. Stupid Prigs! I can't wait to start learning magic! Petunia didn't seem too thrilled though, she called me a freak. I hope she's just upset that I'm leaving to go to a different school, and she didn't mean it. I'll miss her. Mom and Dad are so proud of me. I'll miss them too. I can't wait to tell you what I've learned! Bye._

'What, magic is real, but Uncle Vernon always said that there was no such thing. But Mom wouldn't make that up... Wait, Aunt Petunia knew! So that's why she says I'm a freak, I must be magical too. I wonder if her diaries have more information. Maybe I can sneak them down without anyone noticing.' He grabbed the dairies and stuffed them under his shirt before heading to his cupboard he quickly stored them in the back under Dudley's old clothes where they couldn't be reached. Then he headed to the kitchen, to make dinner. Just then Vernon walked in.

"Hi Petunia, have a nice day?" Vernon asked her, giving her a peck on the lips, and heading towards the kitchen. Turning around he set his eyes on Harry who was just starting dinner.

"Boy, why haven't you finished dinner? Thought you could slack off huh, well I'll not have you lazing about you ungrateful little freak. After everything we've done for you, even kept you for another year, and you repay us like this." Vernon yelled at him cuffing him across the head, and sending him into the stove.

"I'll deal with you after dinner" he threatened an angry gleam in his eyes, along with an unholy glee at the thought of hurting the small boy.

"Go down stairs, if you're going to punish him Vernon, I'll not have his blood on the floor, and I don't want him screaming, the neighbors will gossip." Petunia stated.

Trying not to show his fear, Harry served dinner, and cleaned up. Once he was finished he was dragged down the stairs by his Uncle who then proceeded to lock the basement door.

ABUSE AND RAPE SCENE, GRAPHIC

"Hope you enjoy your birthday present Freak; we're going to do something new." His uncle grinned sadistically at him. With that, a piece of duct tape was placed over his mouth and his rags were ripped off. His wrists were tied together with a piece of rope, cutting off his circulation. He was thrown to the ground and his uncle took off his belt brining the metal side down on his back, drawing blood, and opening up the old wounds, the pus oozed mixing with the blood. Again and again the belt hit him; he lost count after twenty, and just focused on trying to breath. Finally his uncle stopped, but it didn't end there, he got out a pack of cigarettes, and lit one on fire before pressing it into his leg. He would have screamed, it hurt so badly, but all that came out was a muffled whimper that his uncle didn't hear. Eventually his uncle got bored and pulled out his pocket knife. Harry squirmed trying to get away, but to no avail, he was too weak from the chores, blood loss and lack of food, and he was already small for his age and looked to be about three, he didn't have a chance. His uncle cut designs into him, and words saying that he deserved it. The word FREAK was cut into his back, as a reminder of what he was. Finally when his back was covered in blood his uncle stopped, and smiled savagely at him.

"I have a surprise for you Boy" he grinned happily at the bleeding form of his nephew, "you're going to like this" Harry's eyes widened in horror whatever his uncle had planned it wasn't good. This was proven as his uncle unzipped his pants; Harry shut his eyes not wanting to know what was coming. It burned and he screamed tears rolling down his face for the first time in years, it felt like he was being split in two. His Uncle let out a moan pumping in and out of him.

"Ohhh, so tight, such a bad boy, take it all, you like this don't you, you little slut. Feels so good." His Uncle thrust into him, his blood acting like a lubricant, finally his Uncle released his seed, and he pulled out, cleaning himself off and getting dressed. Giving Harry a vicious kick to the ribs, satisfied when he heard a crack he left. Harry lay there crying his arms still bound and his mouth duct taped, glad it was over, and he passed out.

END SCENE

When Harry awoke he had been freed, but was still covered in dried blood. Laying there staring at the ceiling he assessed the damage. His wrists were bleeding from where the rope had cut into them, and his ribs were sore, at least one was broken or cracked, by the feel of it, and his legs burned from the cigarette butts. His back hurt like hell, and felt really raw, he hoped he had skin left. His lower back and ass hurt, oh, his cheeks went red at the memory, but he refused to cry. There was no way he could have prevented it, and no matter what his Uncle had said he had not wanted it. He had long ago learned not to listen to his so-called family when they said those things; if he did he would be a total wreck. He still wondered why they did this to him, what had he done, they didn't treat Dudley like this, so it must be his fault. Wait, his mother's diary, he could do magic! If only he could heal himself, oh well maybe her diary mentioned how to. Getting up he pulled on his shirt wincing as pain shot through his side and back.

"Boy, get up, and go take a shower. I'll not have you covered in filth when we have guests over for supper. You will help make dinner and then you are to stay in the cupboard for the rest of the week, and don't make any noise!" Aunt Petunia screeched. Harry took a step forward suppressing a cry as pain shot through his side from his ribs. Slowly he made his way to his cupboard to get some of Dudley's old castoffs before heading to the washroom. Turning on the tap he undressed, wincing as his shirt stuck to his back. The cold water felt good on his skin cleaning away the blood, and grime. He grabbed a face cloth and started to scrub letting his tears fall silently and mingle with the water. He felt so dirty, like he would never be clean again. His Uncle was right he was filthy, no one could love him; who would love used goods? The water ran pink from the blood, as he stepped out of the shower and got dressed. He made his way back to the cupboard, letting the door shut behind him. Knowing that he wouldn't be disturbed he grabbed the bottle of peroxide and took off his shirt. Grabbing a pair of Dudley's underwear that he never used he ripped the thin material into pieces and applied peroxide to one of them. Holding the damp cloth he applied it to his back as best as he could, then grabbed a few more strips, and tied them over the wounds. The makeshift bandages should hold, and the blood hopefully would not seep through the shirt he was wearing. He couldn't do anything for his ribs; he just hoped that they would heal soon. He always healed fast, faster than normal people. He had always thought that it was because of his freakishness, but maybe it was because he was magical? He grabbed his mother's dairy and began to read, eager to know what she had written. The book covered much of her childhood, and he was surprised that his Mother and Aunt had gotten along before she got her letter.

Harry was trapped in his cupboard for a week without food, not that he minded. He was hungry, yes, but he had gone longer without food, and it gave him time to look through his mother's dairies. He read about her getting her letter, and buying her Hogwarts stuff. He was surprised to learn that the entrance to Diagon Alley was on Charington Cross Road, in a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. He also learned that he would need a wand to do any magic. Or at least, any magic that wasn't accidental. Maybe he could learn to control his accidental magic, somehow. He would have to look into it. His mother went through her times at Hogwarts, her fighting with a boy, he assumed was his father, James Potter, and his fellow Gryffindor friends. Her friendship with Severus, even though he was a Slytherin and she was a Gryffindor; the classes sounded neat, he liked the way she described potions, it reminded him of cooking. By the third day in his cupboard, he could tell by the sounds of his relatives getting up in the morning and going to bed at night, he had read all about his mother's first five years in Hogwarts. He had also come across something called wandless magic, it was very rare, but apparently if a wizard, or witch was strong enough they could do magic without a wand if the concentrated hard enough. Harry frowned; her description of wandless magic was very vague, but seeing as he didn't have a wand that was the only type of magic he could do that wasn't accidental. What could he practice on, the diary said that he needed to focus and concentrate on what he wanted to happen. He really wanted his ribs to heal, so that would be a good place to start, he was already focused on them because of the pain. Focusing on, the site of the pain, he pictured the bones knitting back together, and concentrated on the feeling that he had felt when his hair grew back. He had already figured out that all of the odd incidents that happened around him when he was scared, or angry was accidental magic, so he hoped that on concentrating on who that had felt, he could use the magic more purposely. He felt a sharp pain in his side, than the pain disappeared touching his side he was happy to find out that it had worked! He didn't feel any pain, Harry's vision swam suddenly and he passed out.

When Harry woke up it was night again, or at least he assumed it was, there was no light under the door, and he could not hear anyone moving around. How long had he been unconscious for? He still felt exhausted, but he no longer hurt. Pulling of his shirt, he looked at his makeshift bandages, they were soaked with blood but at least they had held. He started to pull the cloth off wincing when it got stuck, it was sore yes, but nothing like it had been before he passed out. He finished removing the bandages and looked down, suppressing a gasp. The wounds were gone! The scars were still there and new ones had formed, but he was healed! What? How? It didn't make sense- wait! He had healed his ribs, he remembered wanting the pain to go away and hoping his magic worked, and it did! He was a wizard! He had been trying to heal his ribs though, so why had everything else healed? Creasing his brow he tried to remember what the dairy had said, he had to focus and really concentrate on what he wanted, of course he had wanted to heal, and for the pain to go away. He hadn't been focusing only on his ribs, so he must have healed everything. Wow, magic was so awesome; he wondered what else he could do. Trying to focus on growing his hair, he figured it would be easy, he had already done it once by accident, it couldn't be that much harder to do it on purpose. Trying to summon the tingly feeling he had gotten when he healed himself, he pictured his hair growing longer. He felt the tingly feeling again, it reminded him of pins and needles in a way, but he only felt it briefly then it stopped, he felt dizzy and black spots swam in his vision. Looking at his hair he noticed that it had not grown at all. Curious as to why he shrugged; there was not anything he could do about it now. He felt really drained, and he was so tired. With a huge yawn he fell back asleep.

"Boy get up! Now!" Harry woke to his aunt pounding on the cupboard door, and the click of the lock opening. He was have slept longer than he thought. He still felt exhausted though, and dizzy.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: St. Brutus's (Revised) **

**LadyEmber: **My first reviewer, thank you, I'm glad you think it is well written.

**A/N: **Please note that this chapter has not been edited by a Beta. I am currently looking for a new Beta PM me if you are interested.

**Mentions Cutting and Rape**

Nothing changed over the years, he tried to practice more magic, but always passed out after and felt exhausted for days, although it no longer made him dizzy. School went on as normal until one day he landed on the roof. Furious his Aunt and Uncle had filled out paperwork to have him sent to a new school.

"Boy, we have signed you up for St. Brutus's School for Incurably Criminal Boy's. His Aunt informed him. "We've had enough! I'll not have you going to school with my Dudders and have you doing freakish things to him while we're not around" She continued, ignoring the surprised look on his face.

"They start a week earlier too, so we won't have to put up for you for as long, and we don't want you coming back for the holidays, you hear! It will be bad enough that we have put up with you for the summer, Lazy ungrateful freak that you are, I doubt you even have the brain to go to school" His Uncle informed him, enthusiastically, quite happy with the situation.

The rest of the school year could not pass quickly enough for Harry, he could not wait to go to school. He would not have to put up with Dudley, he wouldn't even have to return to the Dursley's, well except for during the summer. Even that time had been shortened down by a week, sure it wasn't much but he would take what he could get. His uncle had started to visit his cupboard on a daily biases whenever Petunia and Dudley were out of the house, and he would, take him. He tried to stop it, he really did, but his Uncle was four times his size. At least he was allowed to shower afterwards. Not that it helped much, he still felt dirty. He had cut himself on a piece of glass form the television that Dudley had gotten for his birthday, and then proceeded to smash in a temper tantrum when he had missed his favorite show. Harry had been cleaning it up when he had cut himself. He was hurt at first, and he had to tear off a piece of his sleeve and tie it around his finger so that he did not get blood all over Petunia's family room. He did not want to have to clean it after all. Focusing on fixing his finger he did not feel so dirty, and he had started to use the piece of glass to cut his arm after his Uncle visited him. It made him feel like he could at least control something. He continued to read his mother's diary, and he was surprised at how much magic could do, and by how the magical government was run. His mom seemed to think that it was very prejudice and old-fashioned. He would have to look into the government structure and the laws of the Wizarding World when he got the chance. He might be able to sneak out in his school, he had overheard his Aunt and Uncle taking and it sounded like the school was in London, so all he would have to do was find the right street, and look for the Pub. His mother's dairy had explained how to tap the bricks to gain entryway to the alley, as well as how to get onto the platform for Hogwarts. The rest of his summer passed slowly, but without too much disruption, well as little as there ever was when he was around. He would be glad to go simply so that he would not have to see Dudley parade around in his brand new blue and green school uniform, and hear his aunt and uncle gush about how their precious little boy was growing up. In Harry's opinion he now looked like a beach ball, instead of a pig.

Finally it was time for him to go to school, his aunt had given him an old worn out suitcase, and backpack, which were falling apart at the seams, but he did not care, they were his and he rarely got things of his own. Besides he had grabbed a spool of thread and a needle when he was cleaning her room, he could sow the back together. It was a short drive to London. Harry took a good look at the school as they drove up, it was a large brown building with smaller buildings scattered around it. He followed his Uncle to the office.

"Name?" The Secretary asked as they walked up to the desk.

"Harry Potter" His Uncle was doing the talking.

"How old is'e? 'e looks a little young."

"Seven." The secretary, nodded, eyebrow raised.

"Well then, has 'e got a criminal record, a history of drug, of alcohol abuse, does he smoke? I know it seems over the top, but we have to ask." The secretary stated, curious as to why he was here, they may teach all ages, but that was because most of the kids who went hear had very poor schooling, if any. Sure there were a few who were on par for their age, but they were few.

"No." His Uncle replied. Interesting, normally the kids here had some sort of history, otherwise, they would be at a normal school, not this one. He made a mental note to pull the kids previous schooling records and see if there was something, in there. He just settled students in he wasn't responsible for registration.

"Right then, here's your schedule, room, number and key. Don't lose them. There are no drugs, stealing, fighting or vandalism allowed." Have a good year." The Secretary waved them out of the office. His Uncle handed him the information, and his suitcase.

"I don't want to hear from you again until the summer, if we get any calls about any funny business, and you will wish you'd never been born." His Uncle threatened him before leaving.

Harry looked at his schedule; he was in building one, room 201. Walking back to the front of the school he looked around, the smaller buildings must be where everyone lived, while the main building, he had just come out of looked like the school. The smaller buildings surrounded the school in a horseshoe, and the one to his right was labeled one. Walking into the building he found his room without any difficulty, and unlocked the door. Looking around the room, he saw a double set of drawers, beds, and two desks and a closet. The sound of the door opening grabbed his attention.

"Oh, hello. You must be Harry Potter, I'm your room mate, Nick, I'm in my second year. What year are you in you look awful young, what'd you do to end up here?" His new roommate looked much older and bigger than him, he and had light brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Hi, I'm in my first year, I'm seven, why are you so old, aren't you a second year? My Uncle told me he signed me up here, so here I am." Harry replied confused as to why Nick though he was so young.

"Most people who go here have got some sort of criminal record, or have been sent to juvie, and are behind in their education, you're the youngest person I've ever seen here. Nick explained.

"Wait how did you know my name?" Harry was curious.

"They always pair up newbies with an older kid that way they have someone to show them around, the secretary told me when I arrived."

"Oh, okay, which bed do you want?"

"I'll take the right, you can have the left. The washrooms are at the end of the hall, and the dining room is the first door to the right on the way in. Breakfast is from 6 to 8, lunch is from 11-12, and dinner is from 5-6. Breakfast is longer because depending on people's schedules they wake up at different times. Your class number should be on the schedule, a long with what the class is, you can sign up for, art, music or drama with the secretary, and that will go in the blank spot. What Classes do you have? " Nick explained the basic set up and how things were run, while harry looked over his schedule.

"I have English in M106 from 8-9, Math in M109 from 9-10, and History from 10-11 in M108. Then I have lunch from 11—12, Geography in M115 from 12-1, an Elective from 1-2 in M120, 121 or 123 on Monday, and Wednesday, Gym in M111 on Tuesday and Thursday, Health on Friday in M102, and Science in M 101 from 2-3." Harry answered reading it out. "I think I'll take music, as my elective, but why are there three room numbers, and what does the M stand for?" He asked confused.

"The room number will change depending on what elective you take, go see the secretary before class and he'll finalize the schedule for you, and the M is for main. All of the classes are held on the main building where the office is." Nick replied

"Thanks for the help."

"That's why they do this, even with the help people still have problems, if you need anything else let me know. You better unpack, and get to bed, you've got a long day tomorrow." That being said Harry Unpacked the few clothes he had, and went to bed.

Harry woke up with a yawn the next morning, and tried to figure out where he was. He did not hurt which was strange. The fact that he was sleeping in an actual bed was mind boggling. He had never had a bed, he had seen them of course, but he had never been on one, never mind actually slept in one before. Looking around the room the memories of yesterday flooded back. He was at school, and he would never have to see the Dursley's, well not until summer. He noticed that his roommate was still sleeping, and took a look at the clock. It was six in the morning. He was used to getting up early. Quietly he left the room locking it behind him as he made his way to the shower. His Aunt had bought him school supplies and toiletries, although reluctantly. Getting dressed he headed back to his room. His school stuff was already in his backpack, but he took it all out, so he could fix the seams. When he was done sowing the seams up, and patching the holes in the backpack with pieces of Dudley's underwear he labeled his binders, and put paper in them. He pulled out the dairy, and read.

"Morning, you're up early." His roommate said yawning.

"Good morning, I'm used to getting up early, me relatives always got me up so I could make breakfast for them." Harry replied not realizing how odd this statement was, and what it said about how he was treated at his relatives.

'Interesting, he's the youngest person here, small, and thin for a seven year old, he said his Uncle signed him up., his clothes look like they are hand-me-downs, and are in poor condition. He also looks really young. If he hadn't told me I would have thought he was three. Now he says that his _relatives_ wake him up really early so he can make _them_ breakfast. Why does he refer to his Uncle as a relative, and not family, and why did he say make them breakfast, doesn't he have breakfast too? Well, that would explain why he is so small.' Nick thought.

Out loud he said, "Let's go to breakfast, seeing as you're ready, then you can go sort out your schedule." Harry nodded and followed him out the door.

The rest of the week passed in a blur. The teachers were strict, but nice, and Nick was very helpful. He enjoyed math and science, and he was glad that he had chosen music as an elective; he was learning how to play the guitar. He was the youngest person there the only other person who was close to him in age was a boy in his math and science classes. Matt he had brown hair, and blue eyes; he was quite, but seemed nice enough. A lot of the other kids wanted to know why he was here, and they looked at him funny when he said that his Uncle had signed him up, they wanted to know about his home life, but he never answered, he just said that he had missed a lot of school. He had nightmares about the summer and was glad that he had learned to be quiet while living with the Dursleys, otherwise he would have woken Nick up screaming. He was glad Nick did not pry. He had walked in on Harry while he was undressing and seen the scars, but had not said anything to him. He wondered why. He hoped he wouldn't tell the Headmaster, they might phone home, and he would be in trouble with his Uncle.

The one thing that had taken him forever to get used to were the pranks and practical jokes. Apparently it was tradition to pull pranks on the new boys. Most of them were funny, if inconvenient. Dyed hair and skin was the least of it. Some of it was more malicious though. He had experienced his first high, someone had slipped something into his drink and he had spent the day stoned. If it hadn't been for Nick he would have been much worse off. He had also learned to play poker, the boys in his class had insisted, and when he protested that he had no money to play with Nick had snuck him out of school and taught him how to pick a pocket without getting caught. With everything going on the school year passed quickly, he did well on his midterm report card, getting mostly B's and A's. Before he knew it was Christmas break, and the office had a list of people who would be staying at the school for Christmas.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: The End of the School Year (Revised)**

**A/N:** Thank you to anarion87 for reviewing.

Thanks to my beta Baltaine Shadow for agreeing to help edit this story, I know how crazy busy she is, and she taken time to help improve the story when she didn't have to.

WARNING: **swearing, abuse, and rape **

**As always this story is rated a strong M.**

"Harry, wake up, it's Christmas!" Nick yelled excitedly at him, waking him up.

"So, I never get presents." Harry replied trying to go back to sleep

"You have a few, it wouldn't be Christmas without presents now would it? Come on, let's go already" Nick was impatient. Harry rolled out of bed and the headed down to the dining hall. There was a gigantic tree in the middle of the room, with a bunch of brightly wrapped presents under it. Nick looked through the stack of presents, pulling out one for him and one for Harry. After checking all the parcels under the tree for his name,Harry had a few present in front of him.

"What, but who-" Harry stuttered - who would want to give him presents? "I didn't get anyone else anything." He protested, overwhelmed by people's generosity.

"That's okay, they were not expecting anything. Sable and I both got you a present, so did a few of the teachers, and the Headmaster gives everyone a gift" Nick replied, amused by the boy's shock. He was concerned that Harry had told him that he had been told to stay here. He would talk to him about it before he said anything though. He did not want to make things worse for the boy; and until Harry told him what was going on at home they could not do anything. There were a lot of people here who had bad home lives, and it took people a while to open up. He would get Harry to trust him, to open up eventually, but it would take time. Leaving his thoughts he watched as Harry opened up the presents. Harry had gotten lots of clothes, and books from his teachers and the Principal, as well as some candy, and a deck of cards from Sable and Nick.

After having breakfast, they put the presents away and got changed. Harry put on one of the new sweaters and a pair of track pants, they were warmer than jeans, and dried faster. Harry finished getting dressed and Nick pulled him outside so they could have a snowball fight. It was the best Christmas he had ever had, Harry thought as he drifted off to sleep his stomach full, and his body warm for the first time, despite it being winter.

Break passed quickly and before Harry knew it everyone was back at school, and there is only one weekend left before school started again. It was evening, and Harry was wandering the halls of his dorm building, reluctant to go to sleep because of the nightmares. He was lost in his thoughts and did not hear the boys come up behind him until they spoke.

"What do we have here, stupid little kid, wandering the halls at night. What's a tiny thing like him doing here anyway, he looks like he's three. He better not think he's one of us. Run along home to your mommy, you don't belong here!" The oldest boy said he looked to be in his teens.

Harry ran, it was never good when people took an interest in him. The older boys gave chase, laughing, catching up to him quickly. One stuck his foot out tripping him, and kicking him in the ribs. Harry scrambled backwards and stood up. He tried to run again, but when the second boy grabbed his wrist, Harry felt something in his wrist pop. He did not pay any attention to the pain shooting up his arm; he had to get away from them. He gave another yank and somehow felt the tight grip loosening. Harry ran as fast as he could, he was almost at the stairs, but they were gaining on him. The boy who had grabbed his wrist was a faster runner than Harry, and had longer legs. He caught up with him as Harry looked over his shoulder and pushed him. He went flying down the stairs and landed badly on his ankle. Grimacing in pain as he got up he tried to run but was slowed down drastically by his foot. He was too focused on the boys to pay attention to his surroundings, and he ended running into a solid object and falling to the ground. He looked up to see Nick standing in front of him.

"Brett, Jake. What are you doing down here? Not picking fights with the firsties are you? You better hope you aren't caught going back to your rooms after curfew. The Headmaster wouldn't like that, and with the both of you already on probation, well…" He trailed off, settling into a crouch, and readying for a fight. They were both bullies, but tagging up on a seven year old was going too far, even for those two's low standards. The boys looked at each other and left.

"Come on Harry, we don't want to be caught out after curfew either. What were you doing out here anyway?" Nick asked him, heading back to their room.

"I couldn't sleep." Harry replied, limping. Nick looked at him and frowned, but had already reached their room. He unlocked the door and motioned Harry to go in.

"Sit, on the bed, and let me take a look at that ankle. Have you hurt anything else?" Nick asked in concern, grabbing a bag at the foot of the bed and rummaging through it before pulling out a tenser bandage. He started to wrap it around Harry's ankle, pulling it tight, so it would stay in place.

"I think I dislocated my wrist, and my ribs hurt, but I think it's just a bruise. No big deal." Harry tried to brush it off, but Nick ignored him, and pulled off his shirt, there was a blueish black bruise forming over his ribs in the shape of a foot. "Fuck" Nick hissed, and grabbed a water bottle from the small fridge in the room. All the rooms had fridges that way people were not getting up in the night because they were thirsty. He placed the cold bottle on the bruise.

"Hold it there with your good hand, the cold should reduce the swelling. Do you need to see the nurse?" Nick asked in concern, not really expecting Harry to agree. Harry shook his head no, not meeting Nick's eyes.

You're lucky you didn't crack a rib. Let me see your bad wrist." Harry grabbed the water bottle and reluctantly gave his other wrist to Nick. Nick held if firmly, and gave it a jerk sideways, and backwards. With a pop the wrist slid back into place, and the pain lessened greatly, Nick found another tenser bandage and wrapped it around the wrist. The older boy was deeply troubled by the fact that his little roommate did not even flinch during the relocating... just how terrible was the boy's home-life?

"It's you're right one, you might have trouble writing." Nick commented

"No, it okay I'm ambidextrous... thanks it doesn't hurt nearly as much." Harry answered, not overly concerned. His Uncle had broken his wrist often enough that he had learned how to write with his left hand as well.

"So, what happened?" Nick wanted to know.

"I was walking around 'cause I couldn't sleep, and I wasn't paying attention, and they came up behind me, and stated trying to taunt me, I ran 'cause I was outnumbered by the fuckers and they attacked me, managed to steal my room key too." Harry explained. He blushed a little and still refused to meet Nick's eyes. It felt like he had somehow failed the older boy.

"I'll teach you how to pick locks, and we can go to the office tomorrow, and see if they will change the locks, and give us a new key. That way they cannot enter the room. They are bloody cowards and they enjoy picking on people who they think are weaker than them... you know, they were sent to juvie for assault – apparently they put someone in the hospital. Try to avoid them, if you can. I think I should teach you how to fight though, there are other people here besides them, who are just as bad. They don't bother with you now, but they will as you get older. Hmm… maybe I should see about getting you some kind of weapon too, just in case. The easiest to get are knives, and brass knuckles. But you're so small; you're not going to do much damage if you get a hit in, even with brass knuckles. So it better be knives, I'll see about getting you one, I don't have a spare. In the meantime, I can teach you the basics of self-defense." Nick was more thinking out loud than talking to him. Harry thought it might not be a bad idea, that way he wouldn't feel totally defenseless.

By the time Nick had managed it get him a dagger it was the end of March and they only had two months before he went home for the summer. Nick didn't waste any time and quickly set up a makeshift bull's-eye out of a scrape of square piece of wood from the woodshop that he had painted rings on it. He had also taught him how to hold the dagger, and unsheathe, and sheath it properly, as well as how to take care of it. Nick had been teaching him karate and he knew the poses, and the basic kicks, punches and blocks; he worked through a couple of katas daily. Nick had also taught him to pick locks, and he caught on quickly, he was not as fast as Nick, but he could now open up most doors fairly easily. He was glad that he had built stamina from working and doing chores at the Dursley's, it had also taught him to focus. He was also very fast, and had very good reflexes; he thought it was from running away from Dudley all the time. He never thought that he would be happy because of what he went through at the Dursley's but it helped him to learn new things now. Once he managed to learn occumulancy it would be even easier to learn. His mother's diary had mentioned it, apparently her friend Severus had mentioned it to her. It would take a while to actually learn occumculancy though. For now he practiced meditating, it was an important first step. He was slowly gaining muscle, and he did not look so young. Although he was still small for his age, he had a growth spurt, the exercise, and decent meals, as well as the new clothes had helped greatly.

He had thought about telling Nick about his magic, but decided it was safer not to. It was too much of an advantage in a fight – and he didn't think he could bear it if his only friend were to resent him for being magical, like the Dursley's did. It took some trials, and he had to pick a few fights, to get it to work. He had to be careful not to get caught, but boys that were fighting with him would suddenly trip. His punches and kicks also did a lot more damage. Unfortunately, it had earned him a reputation, and the other boys took notice. They started a lot more fights. He had discovered, while running from a gang of older boys that had all gone to juvie for petty thievery and assault that he could will himself to be faster. It was a useful skill and he had practiced in secret to use it to improve his reflexes. He was getting hit less often and doing more damage to his opponents. Soon students were staring to avoid him. People he got into fights with would mysteriously fall down stairs and break an arm, or a leg. Their work would vanish, their stuff would go missing. No one could prove it was him. He had thought he was being careful until Nick had confronted him. He could still remember the conversation after Greg had been sent to the nurse with a concussion and two fractured ribs after falling down the stairs. The older boy had been stoned, but it had not been overlooked.

"You know Harry" Nick began suddenly, confronting him while they were both doing homework. "The only thing any of these incidents have in common is that they all happen to people who have gotten on the bad side of you. Sure fights are common, but the number of injuries not related to fighting, and the type of injuries have gotten worse since you arrived. I'm not saying they don't deserve it, but if I can link it to you, so can others." he gave Harry a long, calculating stare before leaving the boy to his own thoughts.

That had been the end of the conversation and he had been much more careful after that.

Time passed quickly and before he knew it he was packing up so he could go back to the Dursley's. He was not looking forward to it. He already missed this place, and he hadn't even left yet! The next morning Harry woke up and said his good-byes to Nick, before going to the main office to meet his Uncle. Vernon didn't say anything, so Harry followed him to the car, put the luggage away, and they drove off.

When Harry arrived home he was told to put his stuff in the cupboard, and stay there. Harry moved is backpack and luggage into a makeshift mattress, and tried to get to sleep; he knew it would be a busy day tomorrow.

He had been right...

Harry woke to his Aunt rapping on the cupboard and the sound of the lock clicking. He grinned; knowing that he could pick locks now, thanks to Nick. Sadly though, the cupboard's lock was on the outside of the door, unreachable for Harry's nimble little hands.

He was told to make breakfast and was handed a list of chores, with the instruction that they were to be finished by dinner time. Harry sighed. Oh well; at least they were ignoring him for the most part, which was an improvement.

If things got bad he could always create an 'accident'. Then he snorted and shook his head. His relatives would know that he had done it and he'd be worse off.

Quickly he set about the chores. The list was massive, cleaning out the garage took a good three hours, and he still had to mow the lawn, water and weed the garden, clean the washrooms, wash the curtains, do the dusting, make lunch, and make dinner. He only had two hours until lunch he was never going to be finished on time. Mowing the lawn, and weeding the garden seemed to take forever, the flowerbeds had more weeds then flowers, and most of the flowers had died. The grass was overgrown. It looked like they hadn't done any work around the house at all while he was gone.

"Boy!" Harry heard his Uncle bellow. Oh no, he thought, he still had not finished cleaning the bathrooms, and he hadn't even started dinner.

"Why isn't dinner ready?" His Uncle thundered at him, as he ran into the kitchen. "Haven't finished all your chores have you? Bet you've been lazing about all day, thought you could get away with it did you?" His Uncle smiled at him maliciously, eagerly anticipating punishing him.

"No, Uncle Vernon."

"Don't talk back Boy, and you are to call your betters Sir. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir. Sorry Sir." Harry replied quickly, trying in vain to lessen the punishment.

Harry quickly put on the roast, knowing that he would not be punished until after dinner, so that his Aunt wouldn't have to cook. He went upstairs to finish cleaning the washrooms, before heading down to set the table, and serve dinner. After he had cleaned up, his Uncle dragged him downstairs.

Harry lay unmoving where he had been thrown after it was over; he did not want to risk injuring himself by trying to move. Assessing the damage, he figured that he had broken, or at least cracked, a couple ribs and dislocated a shoulder from being thrown. His stomach was covered in bruises. There were burns all over his body from his uncle's cigarettes, and his back was a bloody mess.

Wincing Harry set about relocating his throbbing shoulder. He remembered how Nick had put his wrist back in earlier in the year and figured it would not be much different form that. As he pushed back against the wall to add to the pressure he'd need, he had to bite his lip so hard that blood welled up just to suppress the scream of pain threatening to rip free from his sore throat. After resting for a few minutes and trying not to cry too much, Harry pulled off the remainder of Dudley's old shirt and ripped it up so he could try and use it to soak up some of the blood covering his shaking body. He pulled out his makeshift bandages from last year; he was glad he had gotten the chance to clean them, it meant that he did not have to make more. He pulled out the antiseptic and bruise cream that Nick had given him before they left, and applied it to the wounds. Wrapping the bandages around his ribs, to hold them in place, and tied the rest around his back so he would not get blood all over.

He tried to keep himself busy tending his wounds, he didn't want to think about what his uncle had done, it was bad, he had started to do more than pleasure himself, he had taken a lighter and… and no he wasn't going to think about it. Harry reached for a the knife he kept hidden in his cupboard and cut his stomach, no one would notice one more scar, right? It helped he could focus on the pain, not, not other things.

He was woken up early by his Aunt and given a list of chores that he never managed to finish. He was given a piece of bread, and allowed to drink from the hose. By the time his Uncle came home, he was finishing his chores. His Uncle beat him because his chores were not finished, or because he was alive... his Uncle didn't really need a reason. Vernon would visit him every night when he was locked in the cupboard and was becoming more violent forcing Harry to pleasure him until he passed out from choking. Sometimes he did it during the day, but only when his Aunt and Cousin were out.

So his summer went by, the daily routine was only interrupted if he was locked in the cupboard, as a more severe punishment. Harry like this because it gave him time to read his second year textbooks, he got them when he signed up for classes before he left. It also gave him time to read the diaries.

He had found out why he had blacked out the first time he tried to heal himself. He had used too much magic and had drained himself in the process, after which his core was trying to protect itself and recharge. He was slowly practicing using magic, and he had learned how to heal little things like bruises and burns, to build up the power of his core. The meditation mentioned in his mother's diary, helped his concentration, and time went by more quickly. Harry had even pulled out his knife, and was practicing, not that he could practice much. He didn't dare use the knife on his relatives though; his Uncle was huge and would surely overpower him easily.

Harry celebrated his eighth birthday alone in his cupboard, happy because it meant that he only had a few weeks until school started. He would be leaving the Dursley's soon, and he wouldn't have to see them until next year.

The last few weeks of summer passed quickly, and Harry was packed and ready to leave for St. Brutus's the next day.

ABUSE AND RAPE WARNING

Unfortunately, that last night he spend at Number 4, Private Drive, his Uncle decided that he would give him a going away present.

He dragged him to the basement, bound his feet, and hands, so he couldn't move, and gagged him. He then proceeded to beat him, it was the worst beating he had ever had. It felt like some of his ribs were broken, his wrist, and arm had been snapped, and his nose was broken. He was surprised if there was a patch on skin on him that wasn't bruised, burnt of bleeding. Harry also thought that he had twisted his ankle. He heard the sound of his Uncle undoing his pants and shut his eyes, knowing what was coming, and that he was helpless to stop it. He listened as his Uncle moaned in pleasure, and felt him empty himself inside of him. His Uncle then grabbed the whip and shoved it into him enjoying the new form of humiliation. Harry screamed through the gag and his uncle grinned, pleased with himself and turned him over he grabbed a knife and a pack of cigarettes and proceeded to cut and burn him. He screamed, and blacked out from the pain.

END SCENE

Harry woke to his Aunt pounding on the door. He lied there for a second before telling her he was up. His whole body hurt and he had a massive headache, his shirt was also stiff with dried blood. He had at least gotten to stop the wounds from bleeding. Quickly he put on a different shirt, and grabbed his backpack and suitcase. At least he hadn't unpacked it, and so he had no packing to do. He hurried out to the car and put his stuff in the trunk; by the time he was finished his Uncle was waiting for him impatiently. He got in the car and they drove to the school in silence.


	5. Chapter 4

Thanks, to everyone who has reviewed so far, I appreciate it. Sorry for the wait on this chapter. As always thanks to my wonderful Beta, for agreeing to edit this.

**Chapter Four: Back to School, and Conversations (Revised)**

WARNING: **swearing,** **mentions abuse, rape and death**

**As always this story is rated a strong M.**

"Listen, Boy. If you mention a word of this to anyone, then I'll make this summer look like a picnic. Is that understood?" His uncle threatened him. Harry nodded, he wouldn't tell anyone. Things were already bad enough, besides he couldn't live with the shame, of what had been done to him. People would be disgusted with what he had let his Uncle do to him, or they would pity him. He hated pity, no one would ever understand. Besides if he told then they would report it to the authorities, and at best they would put him in foster care, he had seen the boys who lived there and he would be better off where he was. The worst case would be that they talked to his Aunt and Uncle who would deny it, and then he would be sent back, and have to suffer the consequences. No, no one could ever find out, he couldn't afford to show weakness, the boys at school would be on him like sharks. If he showed weakness, or if word got out about what his uncle did to him, the bullying would get worse, and he might not have Nick to help him out.

Nick, the knowledge that he would see him soon made him happy, but he was also worried. How would he hide his wounds from him, they lived in the same room. Nick, had always helped him out of scrapes, and had even fought some of the other boys when they wouldn't leave him alone. Nick had shown him how things were run, taught him to fight, given him Christmas gifts. Nick had even given him the antiseptic, tenser bandages and bruise cream, in case he got into a fight; though he doubted that was the real reason. Nick had done a lot for him, but could he be trusted? He hoped that he wouldn't have to find out.

Harry was pulled out of his musings as they pulled up to the main office. Grabbing his stuff, he suppressed a grimace of pain, and dragged his things inside the building. Greeting the secretary he was handed his schedule and his room key. Leaving the building he went to his room and closed the door. He would take a shower, and look at his wound before he unpacked; his shirt was sticking to his back because of the dried blood. Putting his suitcase and backpack on the bed, he grabbed some clothes of Dudley's; he would change into the clothes he was given last year, after he got back to his rooms. He did not want to risk someone walking into the washroom and seeing him. Turning to leave, the door opened.

"Hey Harry! How are you doing, how was summer?" Nick asked, putting his suitcase on the bed and smiling brightly at his younger roommate.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Harry replied while trying to return Nick's smile. How was he going to look after his back with Nick here? As if Nick had heard his thoughts, he turned around, getting a clear view of Harry's back. Nick gasped, looking at Harry in surprise.

"Harry what happened?" Nick was worried. He could see the discolouration of Harry's shirt where some of the boy's blood had seeped through. It made him want to punch whoever had done this to the slight boy.

"Nothing, I got in a little fight... it looks worse than it is." Harry replied hastily, hoping that he wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Bullshit, we both know that getting in a fight wouldn't do that, and why wouldn't your Aunt and Uncle take you to the hospital? Judging by the amount of blood, it is probably worse than it looks! What's really happened?" Nick was annoyed, he could understand that Harry might not want to tell him, but he did not like being lied to.

"I, I can't, I can't tell you." Harry stuttered hoping that Nick wouldn't push the issue.

"Why not, it was your relatives, wasn't it?" Harry tried to suppress a wince at hearing Nick voice the truth, but Nick saw it anyways.

"So they did do that! You have to tell someone, you can't go back there, Harry!"

"No! No I can't tell anyone, it will just make it worse! I don't want to tell, don't make me, he'll punish me! It's just a couple of months it's not that bad, I can manage, its' okay, it's no big deal! Please don't tell, you can't tell!" Harry was pale and shaking.

"It's okay! Calm down, I won't say anything. You aren't the only one here who is beaten; trust me! Most people here have problems that come from their home life in some way. It doesn't matter if they drink, or do drugs to forget about it, runaway, so they don't have to face what has happened. Some even work in red light district and sell drugs so they can move out sooner." Nick tried to stay as calm as he could, even though it was terribly hard to do so.

"Promise... and... was I really that obvious?" Harry asked tentatively.

"I promise. And I thought that something was wrong when you showed up last year, and didn't seem to have a background other than skipping classes. It was obvious when you stayed for Christmas and didn't get anything from your relatives that they were at the least neglectful and that they just dumped you here." Nick explained to him.

"My parents died when I was a baby, and I was sent to live with the Dursley's. They don't want me, so they sent me here as a way to get rid of me for most of the time. Why don't they love me, what did I do? God I'm such a freak, of course they don't want me, who would? I'm just a no good burden, even my family doesn't love me. I must deserve it, why else would they do it, they don't treat my cousin like that." Harry rambled on; relived that he could tell someone, he was glad that he had told Nick, he wouldn't lie to him.

"Assholes, you're not a freak, or a burden, and anyone would be glad to call you family and love you. It is not your fault. They're just sick fucks, you didn't do anything." Nick told him. Seeing that Harry didn't believe him he pulled off his shirt. There was a jagged scar in the middle of his stomach.

"Look, my father was an abusive drunk, and he would beat my mother when I was little. One night, when I was about six, he came home completely pissed and started to beat her. I hid under the table crying, he threw her across the room, and grabbed a kitchen knife, he stabbed her, there was blood everywhere. I begged him to stop but he wouldn't listen. He left her lying there, and grabbed me. He stabbed me in the stomach, and then dropped the knife. He started to choke me, I panicked I couldn't breathe, and was in so much pain. I could just reach the knife, so I grabbed it, I wasn't thinking, I just wanted him to let go. I slashed it at him, caught his jugular. He died. The neighbours hear the screaming, and I was sitting there in shock when the police arrived, they sent me to Juvie, that's how I ended up here. It took me a long time, but I realize that it's not my fault, and I couldn't change what happened. So don't think that there was anything you could have done to prevent it, because you couldn't have. Now take off your shirt and let me take a look at the damage." Nick told Harry what had happened to him, hoping that it would help him understand that he wasn't alone, and that he understood what he was going through.

It would take a while for Harry to heal. It would help him to have someone he could trust, and Nick wanted to be there for Harry when he needed him. He wanted to make sure that Harry got that opportunity.

"Now, let me see your back." Nick told Harry. Harry dutifully took off his shirt, and sat in front of Nick letting him see he welts, burns and bruises that littered his body, some of them looked inflamed. Nick's face became an emotionless mask as he saw the state Harry was in. He knew by the way that Harry was sitting that he had broken a few ribs, as well as his nose. He looked Harry over, judging by the odd angle of his shoulder and the way Harry was holding his arm he had damaged his collarbone. They broke so easily. He wished Harry would go to the Nurse. Nick told Harry to stay there, he would have to run down and get a first aid kit from the office.

Waiting for Nick to return Harry started to panic. What if Nick was going to tell them? What if he was disgusted with him? Sure he said he wasn't but people lied. His relatives lied to him all the time. What if Nick hurt him? He was weak now and an easy target. Harry started to shake as sobs wracked his body but he made no noise, and he did not let his tears fall. He shouldn't be crying. Crying was a weakness, so were tears, he knew that. Yet, he couldn't stop it.

Nick went down to the office. Enough people went to the office to ask for ice and first aid kits that the secretary wouldn't think anything of it. He had been to the office plenty of times asking for the same thing, after he had gotten into a fight over the summer. Reaching the secretary's office, he asked for an ice pack, and a first aid kit. He was glad that he had a suture kit and some antibiotic cream, he'd stolen over the summer. His Aunt worked at a hospital so it wasn't difficult to steal things. Some of those welts looked like they were becoming infected, if they weren't treated well…he'd drag Harry to the hospital win if he had to. Nick had sewn up his own cuts a few times after getting into a knife fight so he had learned to sew out of necessity. It always hurt somewhat awful, but it was better than bleeding for hours. Nick hurried back to the room, and opened the door.

Harry was sitting on the bed sobbing when Nick walked in.

"Hey, it will be alright. I didn't say anything." Nick said worried about how Harry was dealing. Harry was probably terrified and just didn't want to show weakness around other people.

Harry looked at him and tried to stop crying, after a few shaky breaths he managed it. Seeing that Harry was managing Nick pulled out a cleaning solution and a cloth and began to clean Harry's back, taking in the bruises as he did so. He had seen that pattern of bruises around the shoulder's and thighs before, on some of the other boys, so he knew that someone had raped, or tried to rape, Harry. It would take a while for Harry to trust him though; he would be surprised if he could trust anybody. Sure he had told him about his Uncle, and was letting him help him, but that was only because he had come to his own conclusions and confronted Harry... and Harry was smart enough to know that he needed to have his wounds looked at by someone.

Finishing cleaning Harry's back he took a look at the welts. It looked like a few had been deep enough to need stitches, but they had already started to scab. "Some of these should have had stitching. It's too late now. Still they need to be cleaned, they are starting to get infected, this is gonna sting." Nick warned, taking out some alcohol pads and some antibiotic cream. He worked as quickly as possible, trying to minimize the pain. By the time he was finished Harry was crying. Nick took out the gauze bandages from the first aid kit and wrapped them around Harry's back; wrapping the area to help prevent infection.

"Are you alright? The worst part is over now. You will let me clean your back and reapply the antibiotics though, if it gets worse I'll drag you to the nurse. Just let me take a look at your arm. I can also fix your nose easily. I've certainly broken my nose enough times to be able to set it, and the bleeding has stopped, which is a good thing." Nick told him looking at what else needed to be done. He couldn't do much for the bone, it was a tricky spot. He couldn't set it. Nick touched his chin, pulling his head up to meet his eyes.

"Well, it looks like a clean break, there is not much I can do, it has to heal on its own. If it's not aligned properly it will cause pain. It should be looked at" Nick said.

Harry shook his head vehemently, telling Nick as much as he had was bad enough, no way he was telling anyone else!

Nick sighed, Harry wasn't going to tell anyone anytime soon... he didn't even trust Nick, not really. "There is not much left to do, other than make a sling to try and prevent the bone from moving."

"I think I might have twisted my ankle, I have a tenser bandage in my suitcase though, and it just needs to be wrapped." Nick didn't reply, he took a long triangular piece of cloth out of the first aid kit, and wrapped it around Harry's arm, then made it into a sling and tied a knot at the back of Harry's neck.

"It should prevent you from moving your elbow too much." Nick explained started to pull stuff out of his suitcase; most of his clothes were in a pile on the floor before he found the tenser bandage and some Tylenol, giving the Tylenol to Harry he tied the tenser bandage around Harry's ankle.

"There we are, all done." Nick informed him.

"T- thank you, you didn't have to help me."

"I know, but I have been in similar situations before, and I know what it's like, someone helped me then. So now I'll help you. You don't have to thank me. This shouldn't have happened in the first place. We better get to bed it's getting late. And we have class tomorrow." By the time he had finished talking Harry was already in bed, and had gone to sleep. Nick looked at the boy; he looked so fragile when he slept. Nick promised himself that he would do everything he could to help him.

Harry woke up the next morning and barely had time to get dressed – with the help of Nick, because of his arm – and grab breakfast before heading to class. The days passed by quickly he went to classes, did homework, had dinner, and practiced meditating with Nick's help. He slept fitfully, woken up by nightmares of what had happened over the summer. Harry was glad that his screams were muffled by the pillow, he did not want to wake Nick up. When he had time he read, and practiced his magic, he was using it to speed up his healing and make sure his bones set right. He didn't dare to heal everything, it would raise too many questions, and he did not want to drain his magical core either. His mother had described what had happened to her friend Severus when he had overdone it once and had drained his core – Harry was sure he did not need to be hospitalized for several days, thank you very much!

It seemed to take forever for him to heal, but finally he was free of his makeshift cast. He had taken it off after class and was happy that he could use his arm again. Harry went to sleep that night with a smile on his face. That happiness did not last long though. Harry tossed and turned in his sleep, he was trapped in his nightmare and as much as he wanted to he couldn't wake up. It was one of the nights that Vernon had visited him, and he was begging him not to, but he wouldn't listen. He never did...

"No, please, no, stop, don't touch me, no! Go away, leave me alone! I'm sorry please stop, you're hurting me!"

Nick heard Harry tossing in his sleep since he was a light sleeper. Years of living with his father had taught him that he couldn't afford to be unaware of what was going on around him; so he woke up extremely easily. He looked at Harry to see what was wrong, and he saw him tossing and turning on the bed, trying to move backwards. Then the muttering started, it was quite at first and it got loader and more hysterical pretty fast. Harry, still scooting backwards, had hit the wall behind his bed and was rocking back and forth.

"Harry, Harry! Wake up, you're dreaming!" Seeing as he still was not waking up Nick went to grab his shoulder to shake him awake but Harry started sobbing when he touched him and curled into a fetal position.

"No, no. Don't touch me! Please Uncle I'll be good, I'm sorry please stop, no, no, no, this isn't happening, no no no nonono! " Harry was babbling hysterically. Not knowing what else to do Nick grabbed a water bottle and poured some of it over his head in a desperate attempt to wake the poor boy up.

Harry woke up to cold water being splashed over his face. "Huh, what?" he spluttered, choking on the water.

"You were having a nightmare, I tried to wake you up, but it didn't work. So I threw water at you." Nick stated. He was pale and his hands were shaking – he had never personally have to help break a little kid like Harry out of such an apparently terrible nightmare. He tried not to let the shaken Harry see how badly he himself had been affected by the night terror.

"Gee, thanks asshole the wetness didn't give it away." Harry tried to hide how upset and scared he was from the nightmare by being sarcastic. Unfortunately it didn't work.

"So, you want to tell me what was giving you nightmares?" Nick needed to know why Harry would have such violent nightmares... something had to happen to finally start helping the boy.

"Piss off." Harry snarled, not wanting to think about it. Having those nightmares was quite bad enough in his book!

"Ok, so you don't want to talk. I can understand that, but you need to do something, if you don't want to talk, you can try writing about it. I'm here if you need me." Nick passed him a towel, and went to go back to sleep. If Harry didn't want to talk to him, there wasn't much he could do, not without losing Harry's trust completely... if he said anything Harry might do a runner.

"Wait, promise you won't hate me or think that I'm disgusting?" Harry sounded so desperate and small. Nick was surprised, the kid had been nowhere near this vulnerable last year and he had been more trusting. He noticed the flinches when anyone tried to touch him, and the lack of food Harry was eating. If Harry got any thinner he was sure the nurse would intervene. He had noticed the looks the professors were shooting at Harry whenever the slight child was not looking. Exactly how bad had his summer been?

"No, I would never think that, and I could never hate you Harry." Nick promised, surprised at the truth in those words.

"I'll tell you, but you can't say anything. Please it would just make things worse!" Harry begged with wide bottle green eyes.

"I won't say anything - it can stay between us." Nick swore, knowing that Harry would need that reassurance before he would tell him anything.

"My Uncle, he didn't just, he didn't... he did more than beat me. Sure it was harsher this summer, but I could deal with that. He's beaten me for as long as I can remember, they don't really want me, my relatives. For the longest time I thought it was normal, and that was how I was supposed to be treated. This summer though, things they got, they got real bad. It started on my fifth birthday, but got worse, a lot worse over the summer. He, he took a knife and a cigarette and he, he …" Harry stopped and looked down unable to continue. He swallowed thickly, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat.

"Harry?" Nick asked gently, prompting him to go one. "He what?"

"He cut, burned, down…on my." Harry broke off too embarrassed to continue... he motioned towards his privates. "Then he, raped, put, put other things... I tried to stop him, I couldn't. I didn't want it, I didn't enjoy it. Please you have to believe me" There he had said it, Nick would hate him now, he was so weak, it was his fault.

Those sadistic pieces of shite! Nick was glad Harry wasn't looking at him, he wanted to smash something! Instead he tried to reassure Harry that he was still his friend and did not hate him for something he had no control over.

"It's not your fault, your only eight; there is nothing you could have done. People like him are sick, there's something wrong with them. I know you didn't want it, I believe you, hush it will be okay, I'll make it okay." Nick assured him. God how could anyone do that to their own family, to a child? He would protect Harry somehow. He wouldn't be there though, what could he do, other than killing Harry's relatives? He had some friends from Juvie. Now that Harry had healed he would continue teaching him to knife fight, well as teaching him Judo. He could also teach him how to set bones, and stitch up any wounds. It wasn't a lot, but maybe, he could invite Harry over in the summer, to get him out of there, he would have to ask his Aunt. He wished Harry would say something to someone, he had tried to convince him last year, and he knew the principal and counselor had tried to get Harry to talk, but until Harry said something officially, they couldn't prove the boy was being abused, and Harry would run. At least here Nick could keep an eye on him.

"Get some sleep Harry, we'll be tired tomorrow." Nick told him. He had a lot to think about, and Harry would need his energy for the lessons that Nick was planning. He needed to get Harry into shape before he could teach him anything; he looked half-starved. On second thought-maybe he was starved, they beat him, raped him, and made it clear that they did not like him, what would prevent them from starving him to. People like that shouldn't be allowed to live. Uh, he really wanted to punch something. With those thoughts swirling around his head Nick fell asleep.

Nick and Harry both woke up late and had to run to make it to class on time. The day passed quickly, they both slept through the majority of class, and were lucky that their classmates woke them up so they didn't get caught. When they went back to their rooms Nick started to teach Harry what he could while the boy was in this desolate state. He was glad that Harry was a fast learner, and very dedicated, even if he started cursing Nick for the training. Nick admitted that he was being brutal, but he wanted Harry to learn as much as he could in the time that they had. The year passed quickly for both of them and now Harry knew the basics and was very good at throwing knives. Nick was going to start to spar with him over Christmas; they were both staying for break.

"Come on, get up it's Christmas!" Nick yelled at Harry.

"I'm tired, that training session was brutal yesterday." He rolled over, but Nick was having any of that, he picked up a pillow hitting Harry on the head. Harry got up muttering at Nick, he threw the pillow back.

"Hmm. You can still throw things, I guess we need to work your arm muscles harder, they don't seem tired enough." Nick grinned wickedly at Harry.

"Bloody hell" Harry groaned, he ached all over from yesterday. They reached the hall, and Harry tore into his presents. He hoped that Nick liked the present that he had gotten him. Harry had gotten some more clothes, a first aid and sewing kit, a few tenser bandages, some actual bandages, and some antiseptic as well as a cream to reduce bruises, and a cream to help cuts. Harry was shocked, Nick really cared. He knew he cared, but still, this really showed how much.

"Harry, this is, this is fantastic!" Nick exclaimed, Harry had given him a drawing of himself last Christmas. It was a water colour painting of him standing outside in the snow, building a snow fort, Harry was across from him, throwing snow. It was beautiful, and he could almost feel the happiness from both of them, it was brilliant.

"You, like it?" Harry asked shyly

"Yes, it's brilliant you've got a lot of talent." Nick told him happily. He had not been expecting anything from Harry.

They passed the rest of Christmas, doing homework, having snowball fights, and continuing to teach Harry different things. The boy had a talent with languages, and had picked up some Spanish and Chinese from people in his classes. Nick was starting to teach him more French, as he was a few years ahead of him. Before they knew it school had started again, and they were loaded with work. The rest of the year passed by even faster, and soon it was summer... and Harry would have to go back to his relatives.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the wit this chapter did not want to be written. Add in a Funeral and well, things got hectic. Thanks goes to my Beta Baltaine Shadow, for her patience with this chapter, if it wasn't for her this chapter would probably be illegible. Also thank you to W for the review. Reviews are always appreciated!

**WARNING**: mentions abuse, cutting and rape (not graphic) Rated M

**Chapter Five: Disappearances, and the Wizarding World (Revised)**

"Harry, you can't go back there!"

"What choice do I have Nick!"

"You could tell someone!" Nick cried exasperated and worried.

"You don't think I tried that?!" Harry asked incredulously.

"What, when, why didn't you tell me. What happened?"

"It just never came up. I was four, and was starting kindergarten; I walked into class with a black eye and broken nose. The teacher asked what happened, so I told her. She took me down to the Headmistress's office and they phoned home. The Dursley's came to the school and denied it, they denied everything. They said that me and Dudley had gotten into a fight, and that Dudley hadn't really meant to hurt me, but he is so much bigger, and being older and all, it just happened. They promised they were taking care of things at home, so that it wouldn't happen again. I was just mad at them for letting it happen, and didn't really mean it. I was sent home for the day. We had a social worker come visit, they showed her Dudley's spare room, they put the bed from the guest room in it. They told her I was disturbed by my parent's death and was fighting constantly. They were really careful not to leave visible marks after that." Harry paused and took a breath trying to steady himself.

"When the visits stopped Vernon… that was the first time he used the belt. Things just got worse after, and when I went back to school the teacher had been fired. No one would listen to me after that, they all thought that I was just a troublemaker." Harry explained with downcast eyes.

"Hmm, we'll figure something out. We have to! I won't leave you there for the whole summer. I can invite you over, but it won't be for the whole two months, but it's better than nothing." Nick said, wishing there was more he could do.

"Thanks Nick." Harry said very quietly.

"You don't have to thank me. You shouldn't even be there in the first place Harry." Nick replied.

With that they both grabbed their stuff and headed down to the main office. Harry was just in time to see his Uncle pull up, saying goodbye to Nick he put his luggage into the trunk of his uncles obviously new car and all too soon they drove off.

Shortly before they reached Little Whinging, Vernon glared over at Harry and growled at him:

"Listen Boy, Aunt Marge is staying with us for the summer. You are to do your chores, and then go to your cupboard. You will stay out of the way. Did I make myself clear?" his small beady eyes were glinting oddly, almost as if he was hoping Harry would make some kind of a wrong move and give him a reason to punish the boy as soon as the door of number 4, Privet Drive closed behind them.

"Yes, Sir." As much as Harry hated Aunt Marge, he was glad that she was visiting – it made it easier for him to disappear and allowed him to stay away from his oh-so-loving relatives as ling as possible.

Reaching Private Drive, Harry put his belongings in the cupboard, and was given a list of chores by his aunt.

"They are to be finished in two weeks, after that you will go to your cupboard and stay there, you will be let out to cook, and do your business." she told him briskly while trying not to look at him too much and having an expression on her face that suggested something rotten was stuck in her nose.

"Yes Aunt Petunia." Harry answered dutifully and carefully took the list without touching his aunts fingers – that would get him punished...

Harry got started right away, the list was long and the house had not been kept up all that much since his absence, but at least he had two weeks to finish with them. Finally the two weeks were up, and Aunt Marge arrived in her usual all-important way, bumping around, being overly noisy, complaining about the terrible trip she had had and that her sweet dog, Ripper, hadn't been comfortable either. And those disgusting employees of the National Rail had done nothing to make them more comfortable! Harry was locked in his cupboard and he was happy with this it as it gave him time to do his school work, and practice magic, as well as meditation. He was glad that he would be in his cupboard, it meant that he would probably have less beatings and the dog could not bite him in here, although he doubted that the rape would stop.

How right he was, Uncle Vernon still visited him nightly but since he had stopped crying and begging, his Uncle liked it, and it just made him more excited. Harry couldn't wait to go to Nick's. Harry waited, and waited but Nick never called. Why wasn't he calling? He hoped that he was alright. Nick never went back on his promises. The beatings were infrequent, and shorter, he broke less bones, and got lots of time to practice healing himself without burning himself out. By now he could heal the bones as well as the welts on his back and had finished all of his schoolwork. Having nothing else to do Harry practiced his magic: he could make light, float things, and do most of what his mom said were first year spells without a wand, or incantation, although they never lasted for more than an hour at a time. As far as summers went his could have been worse.

It was the last few weeks of summer, and Marge was leaving early, one of her dogs had had puppies, and she wanted to go see them. So Harry was let out of the cupboard and told that he was to do his chores and disappear. This was the reason Harry found himself with some free time, he had figured out how to do magic, to make the clothes fold, and clean the dishes. He could also move stuff faster, and put stuff away. It was very draining, but it made the chores go by a lot faster. Harry headed outside for the afternoon; he was going to the park.

"Hey freak! Whatcha' doing? Aww...! Look he's all alone!" Dudley taunted him. This wasn't good, he couldn't fight back! Dudley would tell his parents, and he would be in for it! So he did the only thing he could do: he ran. He was lucky that Dudley was so fat, but other members of his gang weren't and Harry had to use every short cut he knew to avoid them. Panting he headed towards the library. Dudley wouldn't go in there and Harry was fairly sure that he never would go in out of his own free will. Finally he reached the doors and quickly went inside.

It took him a moment to catch his breath and to calm down, but then he felt better. Being in the library had always felt like a save heaven for the boy. There were so many books, just waiting to be read and to whisk him away into their worlds, to tell him wonderful and amazing tales about bravery, friendship and even magic. He went over to the shelf that held the fairytales, picked a random book and sat down to read.

It was dark out when Harry headed home and the house was locked, so were the garage and the shed. No matter, he had a lock pick on him. Picking the lock on the garage he went inside, found himself a corner and went to sleep.

The rest of the summer passed in the same manner. On a rare occasion Dudley would catch Harry and beat him, but he had that cream for cuts and bruises that Nick had given him and his magic. He purposely came home late so he would be locked out, he didn't want to be in the house with his Uncle. He had taken to bringing his backpack with him and putting some clothes in it to act as a pillow.

He still had not heard from Nick, he didn't know why. Maybe Nick didn't want him around his family and he was ashamed to be his friend.

So the summer went by, without too many incidents, and soon it was time for Harry to go back to school. He loaded his luggage in the car and his uncle drove to him back to St. Brutus. Harry made his way to the office as his Uncle drove off.

"Hi" Harry greeted the Secretary with a smile.

"Hey Harry. Here's your schedule. You have a different roommate this year, His name is Owen."

"What? what happened to Nick?" Harry asked, worried about his friend.

"Apparently he's going to a private boarding school in Bulgaria." The secretary informed him.

"Okay, thanks." Harry replied heading up to his room. Maybe, Nick had moved, and that was why he didn't see him this summer? Yes, that made sense. He still was quite sad to lose his first friend.

He wondered what his new roommate was like. At least he had healed any damage he had with magic before coming back to school and he felt immensely lucky that things had not been so bad over the summer. Reaching his room he unlocked the door and started to unpack. By the time he had everything put away his roommate had arrived.

"Hi, you must be Owen! I'm Harry, the secretary said that you are my new roommate." Harry greeted the older boy. He had sandy blond hair and brown eyes, and looked to be in his mid-teens.

"Look, I don't care who you are I'm here to sleep, and to go to school, so leave me alone, I don't need, or want your help." Owen replied sharply, turning to unpack and get ready for bed.

Harry sighed deeply. He was missing Nick more than ever and went to bed knowing that he would have a busy week.

The year went by quickly Harry had skipped a grade because his marks were so high last year and he was so busy trying to keep up with all his classes. He spent all his spare time practicing Karate and knife fighting and he found out that Sable also knew some karate - more than he did. So Harry was learning from him. Sable was also teaching him Cantonese. Apparently living on the streets of Liverpool had taught him more than just how to pick pockets. When he had spare time Harry was practicing magic. He was progressing rapidly and could now do most second year spells without a wand, or incantation, and keep the effects for a half hour. He could also heal most of his wounds, although healing broken bones was still quite taxing for him. Harry found that the more he practiced magic the less draining it was. It somehow reminded him of training his muscles: The more he used them, the stronger he became over time and with some rest in between training.

Soon it was Christmas and – as always – Harry was staying in school. Not many people were staying, but at least Sable was. All of the teachers had started to keep a closer eye on him. Saying that it was because they wanted to ensure he was keeping up, now that he had skipped a grade. However, Harry knew it was because he was always seen studying and was quieter. It simply did not fit into the profile the school had been given on the troublemaking nephew of the poor Dursley couple.

Harry was careful to muffle his screams when he had nightmares, and hide the evidence of his cutting. He took to making cuts on his stomach so that they were always covered by his clothes.

One of the teachers even asked why he wasn't spending Christmas with his relatives. Harry told her that he didn't want to because it reminded him too much of losing his parents, that he was orphaned, even if he couldn't remember them too well. He told her it was hard knowing that they were dead – he even managed to make his eyes teary. She seemed to accept this but then asked if he was receiving counseling over the summer to help with his apparent grief. He told her that he was, but that holidays were and had always been hard to take.

Harry woke up Christmas morning and went to the main building to open his presents. Sable had gotten him a present and so had the teachers. He was surprised to receive a brightly wrapped gift from Nick. Opening up the card he read it eagerly:

_Hey,_

_Harry how are you? Hope your summer was okay. Sorry you couldn't come over; my Aunt signed me in a boarding school in Bulgaria. It was a surprise that it was so far away. I thought because I lived here that it would be a different school, but apparently because my mom's family was from Bulgaria they still attend school there. I wish I could have had you over but we were so busy getting everything ready. I'm really sorry that you weren't there. You'll do okay on your own. I hope your new roommate is nice, and that you don't have too many problems with your classes. Anyway I sent you a present. It's a diary; it has a lock on it, that way you can write about your nightmares. I also sent you a book that teaches people how to speak Bulgarian. I know how much you like languages. I miss you and wish you were here._

_Nick_

Well, that was nice, Harry thought, but now he wished that he had gotten Nick something. It didn't matter though. Even if he had he would not have known where to send it. He hoped that Nick was doing okay. Bulgaria, wow that was so far away, no wonder Nick hadn't invited him over. Eagerly he opened the present before heading back to his rooms to read through the book.

The moths passed quickly and soon it was Easter Break, and the teachers were becoming concerned that Harry was not seeing his relatives. He would have to do something, and soon too, to get them to stop asking questions. Coming up with a plan Harry looked through his mother's diary trying to find the passage about where the Leaky Cauldron was. The entrance to the Wizarding World was in the Leaky Cauldron and his mom said that they also rented rooms to school students, he was a little young to pass for eleven, but he could use his magic to make his hair longer, and change his eye and hair colour. It was too bad he couldn't change his height for more than a few minutes and it hurt when he tried. No one would know who he was and most of the boys here, him included, looked older than they were. The new clothes helped too.

Now, how he was going to get there might cause a problem. He could take the tube easy enough, but he didn't have money for a ticket and he needed it to look like he was staying with his relatives. He could forge a note to look like his Uncle had sent it to him saying that they were staying in London for the break and that they would meet Harry there, but that didn't solve the money issue. He could always steal some if he was careful. Pickpocketing someone was easy enough in London and it wasn't that far to the tube station and he could get money easily enough there. The teachers shouldn't think too much of it, he would just make sure that the letter said that they were going to meet him at the tube station since it was only a few blocks away from the school.

With that figured out Harry forged the note and went to talk to the Headmaster who told him that he could miss school to spend a few more days with his relatives as long as his uncle phoned saying that he approved. Harry thanked him and went to pack the things he would need in order to leave.

Making his way down to the tube station Harry spotted a likely target. The woman was looking after a set of young boys and was distracted. She was carrying a purse which made things easier. All he had to do was sneak open her purse and grab her wallet. He was wearing gloves so he wouldn't leave marks. He would dump the wallet in the trash in the men's loo since it was more private and it seemed less likely someone would observe him in there. Waiting until she was distracted he took his chance, grabbed the wallet and quickly slipped into the men's loo. He flipped through the wallet taking out 10 pounds and fifty pence. He dumped the wallet, bought himself a ticket and went down to Charington Cross. From there it was just a matter of finding the Leaky Cauldron. Harry almost overlooked the small pub, it was so dingy, and looked like it was really old and worn down by time. Walking inside he realized that he had no way of paying for a room. Good job Harry, he scolded himself. You should have realized this sooner, now what was he going to do. Wait, hadn't the Diary said something about a bank called Gringotts, and that she had set up a vault there, maybe it still existed? He looked at the diary, yes! Vault 791 was his mother's he could always ask the Goblins, he was her son after all. Harry entered the Pub, and followed a family wearing robes as they went to the back and tapped on the bricks he started in awe as the archway to Diagon Alley opened up.

Entering the Wizarding World Harry's eyes moved rapidly trying not to miss anything and taking in all of the sights. It was so cool! Now, how to find Gringotts... there it was! The building was huge and looked to be made out of white marble. Entering he went up to the front desk and, trying not to stare at the little green creatures, he figured they were the Goblins. They looked very creepy and somewhat aggressive.

"Hello, my name is Harry Potter." Harry said to the Goblin, getting his attention.

"Ah, Mister Potter, I was wondering when you would come here, the Potter vaults are very old. I trust you have your vault key?"

"No, I didn't even know I had a vault, I was actually going to ask about Vault 791. It was my mother's and I was wondering if there was anything there." Harry was confused.

"Yes, there is money in that Vault, but we must get you another key and discontinue the current one before you can access it. For a fee, of course." the Goblin grinned toothily and Harry could feel goosebumps rising on his skin. He merely nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. "Prick your finger on this please and state your name. It will make another key for you. It is tied to your blood so only a Potter can use it. Then someone will take you down to your vault." Harry did as he was asked and jumped, his eyes going wide as a key appeared on the counter. The Goblin looked at it closely before handing it to him, and calling over another Goblin.

"Griphook will take you to your vault, have a good day." Harry followed Griphook to the cart and got in. The cart ride was a lot of fun for Harry who had only ever been allowed to watch Dudley ride the roller-coaster but was never allowed to ride himself. They went so fast it took no time at all to reach his vault.

"Here is your Vault." Griphook told him, turning the key and opening the huge door for his young customer. Harry gasped there were heaps of bronze, silver and gold coins. Griphook explained the currency to him and Harry filled a bag before they went back up to the ground level.

Harry headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to get a room since it was already getting late and he was starting to feel tired after all the excitement of the day. He was shocked to find out that he had so much money. He would definitely have to go shopping tomorrow. Entering the Pub he walked up to the desk.

"Excuse me, could I rent a room for the next week?" Harry asked the bartender.

"That will be twenty sickles, room fourteen is up the stairs and to the right. Enjoy your stay! My name is Tom. If you need anything let me know." Tom told him with a wide and almost toothless grin.

"Actually, how much is dinner?" Harry asked and could hear his stomach grumble at the same moment.

"Twelve sickles, find a table. I'll get you a menu." Tom grinned some more. Clearly he had heard the boy's loudly grumbling stomach...

"Thanks." Harry sat down and looked at the menu before ordering a steak, kidney pie and milk. After he finished and paid for the meal he headed upstairs and quickly went to bed. He was planning to explore the Alley tomorrow to his heart's content.

Harry woke up trying to remember where he was. Shouldn't he be at school? Then he remembered, he was in the Wizarding Word! Getting up excitedly he went to take a shower and almost fell over backwards in shock when the mirror started to talk to him.

"You forgot to brush your teeth! And brush your hair! You look like a hoodlum!" the mirror shouted, sounding almost as cross as his aunt did whenever she saw him.

Harry gulped. "Sorry!" he said guiltily and quickly brushed his teeth. He shoved a hand through his hair and tried to flatten the wild spikes – like always he was without luck.

"Hmph!" the mirror commented. "I guess that can't be fixed. You still look like a hoodlum, though!"

"Sorry..." Harry repeated helplessly. What else was there to say? He got dressed and rushed down to breakfast before heading out to take a look around Diagon Alley.

The Alley was huge! There were clothes shops, book stores, ice cream parlous, pet shops, a sports store, a wand shop, a trunk shop. Shops for anything he could have imagined and then some. He still had the money from yesterday, but where should he go first? Well, if he was going to buy anything, he would need a place to store it! And just like that it was decided, his first stop would have to be the trunk store.

"Hello, can I help you?" The storekeeper asked while idly looking up from his newspaper. Harry could see the pictures moving and some of the ads swapped places while he stared at them.

"What kind of trunks do you have?" Harry asked, not sure what he wanted.

"We have the standard school trunk, the Auror trunk that had six compartments and a room in the last one. We have house trunk that have a compartment for a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, as well as two standard compartments. We have muggle trunks that look like muggle suitcases but can have up to seven compartments. Does that help?" the man asked with a kind smile.

"Do any of the trunks have special features, like a locking charm, on them?" Harry asked, he had read about the locking charm in him mom's diary and it sounded very useful. He slowly approached the counter and almost expected the man to start shouting at him for daring to ask a question. He didn't, though.

"Yes, we have quite a few features available. All of our products come with the standard locking charms, charms against fire, water and muggle repellant charms. We also have lightweight charms, expansion and shrinking charms and tracking charms, should you ever lose your trunk. To use the locking charm, lightweight charms and shrinking charms all you have to do is press the button on the top of the case and tell it what you want it to do. The commands are: lock, shrink and lightweight. They shrink to the size of a deck of cards, and they become about two pounds with the lightweight charms. Do you see anything of interest? " the storekeeper asked him after finishing the explanation.

Harry took a minute to think about how many compartment he would need. One for muggle school stuff, one for wizarding stuff, one for clothes, and one for potion ingredients, so they would not get all over the place, and perhaps another for any extras that he picked up. That was a total of five compartments. It would also not be a bad idea to get a muggle replant charm so that his relatives and roommate would avoid it. He took a moment to look at the various models the man had lined up along the walls of his store and instantly liked a black leather trunk standing almost in the middle of the row. It looked very distinguished and mature. And, he thought after a moment, the muggle-style would make sure he was not stared at in a crowd...

"I would like the muggle style trunk with five compartments, with a shrinking and lightweight charms added on please. oh and can I get a satchel? With the expansion charm and lightweight charm?" He asked picking up a black leather satchel sitting by the counter, a perfect match for his new trunk, while thinking of his old school bag which was falling apart at the seams. Harry thanked the man for his excellent work as he was paying for the purchase and leaving the shop. He then went back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch and then went to an ice cream parlour called "Florean _Fortescue's_ Ice Cream Parlour" to get himself some dessert. After lunch Harry went back to Gringotts to look through the Potter Family Vault. He couldn't take anything out until he was of age, but he wanted to have a look around.

His vault was huge! There was lots of money, a few pieces of furniture, baby toys (some of them looked downright ancient to Harry and he figured, that it must have been a family custom to out the toys the children didn't play with anymore into the vault as a memorandum.) and even jewelry. Walking further in he found a set of four knives, two were for the wrists, and the other two were smaller and meant to be place in someone's boot. There was a bookshelf with all sorts of books. He browsed through the titles._ 'Unleashing Your Inner Animal: A Guide to Becoming and Animagus'_, caught his attention so did _'The History of the Potter's', 'An Introduction to Healing', _and _'The Marauder's Book of Pranking'_. Those titles he could understand, but despite his Mother's diary many books had wizarding terms he didn't understand... maybe he would pay a visit Flourish and Blotts tomorrow and get a dictionary.

Harry woke up the next morning and headed over to Florish and Blotts right after breakfast, he spent almost an hour looking for a book that explained common wizarding terms. The hoopkeeper had also directed him towards, _'A Guide to the Wizarding World', 'Recent Events of the Wizarding World', 'The Ministry of Magic' _and finally_ 'Wizarding Customs and Traditions'_. These books were practically shoved into his hands by the shopkeeper. Harry didn't mind too much. If he was going to become a part of this world, he had better know how to survive in it would have to go back to the Leaky Cauldron and put them in his trunk. Harry entered Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. He bought five sets of everyday robes and a couple cloaks so he would blend in and left the shop. Venturing further down the alley he went into a shop called Muggle Gear, entering it he found it was a muggle clothing store. Harry bought clothes that actually fit him, and weren't gifts as well as shoes, his were being held together by duct tape. Heading back to the Leaky Cauldron he saw a street called Knockturn Alley, it looked really dim. He would visit it tomorrow when it was a bit lighter out.

Harry spent the rest of the break looking through the books. The glamour charm would be very useful. Maybe he could put a glamour on himself so that he looked like his Uncle? He shuddered at the thought but it would be a useful ability. The he could show up in the office, and ask how he was doing, while 'Harry' went back to his room. That way the counselors might not ask about his home life. He could also hide his scars better that way too. Harry started practicing the charm right away... the first time he passed out, though. He could at least stay awake now, but he felt really dizzy and it wouldn't hold for more than 15 minutes if he tried it would stop working.

Harry woke up at his last day of break and headed to Gringotts before leaving the Alley behind since he would need some money for a train ticket. The train ride was not nearly as long as the trip to the magical London area had been and soon he had reached his stop. He got off the train and quickly walked to the entrance of St. Brutus's. Quietly he slipped into a washroom, knowing he would have to be quick, and that the charm wouldn't last very long. Applying the glamour he walked to the headmaster's office and stopped in front of the secretary.

"Hello, how are you on this fine day?" Harry asked pleasantly while looking like his unpleasant Uncle.

"I'm fine, can I do something for you?" The secretary responded with a wrinkled nose.

"I was just wondering how my nephew Harry was doing? He's a good kid, but he has problems, skips school gets into fight's, kid's still upset about his parents and nothing we try seems to help." The glamoured Harry explained, trying to demonstrate that 'he' cared for 'the boy' and telling the woman why Harry was here. He knew that they thought that he was abused, he hoped that by doing this they would stop questioning him.

"He's a good kid, a little quite maybe, doesn't interact much or open up easily. Possibly a bit depressed but other than that he is doing okay." The secretary told him with an odd expression on her face. His relatives, Harry thought, had surely never asked about him before. And he had been a pupil of St. Brustus's for a few years now.

"Thanks, I just wanted to drop by and see how he was when I got the chance, work has been so busy lately that I've not had much time." He explained, giving a reason for why his family was never around. Wishing the secretary a good day he ran to the washroom just in time for the glamour to fall without anyone noticing. Hopefully it had worked and he would be left alone. Harry headed to his room to get ready for bed seeing as he had classes tomorrow. The rest of the year passed quickly and soon Harry was back at the Dursley's for the summer. His aunt and uncle ignored him for the most part and he found that the summer was very similar to last year's.


End file.
